Friday List

- Make Granola
- Fold and put away laundry
- Devotions
- Go for a walk or swim
- Go to work
- Nap

Keeping in short and simple for Friday

Thursday To Do List

I need the accountability...so here it goes.

- Devotions
- Put away the clothes that are covering my bedroom and the pile in my living room
- Clean Living Room/Dining room
- Go to a training class at work - Done
- Go to PT - Done
- Go to Community group - Done
- Take package to post office - Done
- Go for walk -Not done, but had a killer workout at PT

Not a lot on my list, but its a full day between driving and spending time at the class and at PT. Bleh.....

Baptize My Heart

I've been listening to this artist off/on for a while and this song just resonated with me. Its called Baptize My Heart. I've put the lyrics below and highlighted the parts that are a cry from my heart. Yes, there are a lot of lyrics, but it is also a 14 minute song. If you get a chance to listen to this song, I would highly recommend it. All the music by Misty Edwards is amazing...long and repeating, but I've come to find that the repeating helps it to sink in past your head and into your heart.

Baptize My Heart

I can hear the song
Of the Creator as He sings over His creation:

I played the flute ...
Did you dance?
I sang the wedding song over you ...
Were you romanced?
I played the funeral song ...
Did you lamented?
I told you My judgments were in the land ...
But did, did you repented?
For even children
Know when to dance!
And even children know
When to lament…

I played the flute for you ...
Did you dance?
I sang the wedding song over you ...
Were you romanced?
I played the funeral song ...
Did you lamented?
I told you My judgments on the land ...
But did you repented?
Repent, did you repent?
For even children
Know when to dance!
And even children know
When to lament…

What should I like to do this generation
My children in the market place
We sing:Of the Flame
The only safe place is in You

Baptize my heart with
Your fire, desire, Jesus(Repeat x4)
I don't want to be offended, no
I don't want to be offended
I don't want to be offended
When it's all coming down

I wanna be for You
Not against You
I wanna be with You where You are(repeat x4)

I pledge my allegiance to Jesus, to Jesus
I pledge my allegiance to the Lamb(repeat x3)

When the nations arising against You
The nations (x2)
I wanna be where You are
Sweet with the wicket
I wanna be where You are
-the only safe place-

Baptize my heart with Your fire,
Desire, Jesus(Repeat x4)

I don't want to be offended, no
I don't want to be offended
I don't want to be offended
When it's all coming down

I pledge my allegiance to Jesus, to Jesus
I pledge my allegiance to the Lamb(repeat x3)

We played the flute ...
You did not dance
We played the funeral song ...
You did not lamented
Oh God…
Teach me how to dance...
How to lament…
Show me what YOU're looking for
What kind of response YOU're asking of me
Oh oh

Baptize my heart with Your fire,
desire, come on(Repeat x4)
I don't want to be offended, no
I don't want to be offended
I don't want to be offended
When it's all coming down

Baptize my heart with Your fire, desire, Jesus(Repeat x4)**
I don't want to be offended, no
I don't want to be offended
I don't want to be offended
When it's all coming down

Once again You are going to shake everything that can be shaken
Jesus desire of the nations
The only, only safe place is in the center

I pledge my allegiance to Jesus, to Jesus
I pledge my allegiance to the Lamb(repeat x3)

From the son of David
To the Jewish carpenter from Nazareth
When it is all coming down
When the nations arising against Him
I pledge my allegiance to Jesus Christ of Nazareth
The Jewish King
The Son of David
The Slave Lamb
Alpha I Know that He is the Magnificent obsession
And He is the desire of the nations
To Turn it all around
Its just a matter of time . . .
I am going to choose this day to love Him, to serve Him
I am going to choose this day to clean the hills…….alone
I pledge my allegiance to Jesus, to Jesus
I pledge my allegiance to the Lamb
Is all coming down…

Once again You can shake everything that can be shaken
Oh Righteous Judge of the nations
Beautiful Bridegroom
Lover of my soul
Do what you have to do
Just come
Come to make the wrong things right
Come to turn the darkness flight
Turn the world upside down, ‘cause
There is no peace until You come back

Jesus until You return
Return, return, return,
Return, return, return
Jesus please come back
Creation is growing and waiting, waiting and growing, growing and waiting,
Waiting and growing, growing and waiting
For your return
You are the only Man of Peace
That we want
You are the only King that we cry to come again…
Return …
Jesus come…
Come again Jesus…

The Bones

This is a song from church I have found very convicting as of late. If I ever figure out how to get music on my blog, I will actually share it with you (anyone know how to do that?). For now, here are the lyrics.


I've been found out, hallelujah.
My sin is in front of my face.
My secrets exposed, hallelujah.
Now will you blot out this disgrace.
Your justice falls, like a hammer.

The bones you have crushed, rejoice, rejoice!
The bones you have crushed, rejoice.
In breaking my bones your love is shown.
I'm broken, hallelujah.

It's painful to scrape, hallelujah.
The blood that is caked on my hands.
Your strong hands they tear, hallelujah.
They'll heal what they break in the end.
Your justice falls, like a hammer.

The bones you have crushed, rejoice, rejoice!
The bones you have crushed, rejoice.
In breaking my bones, your love is shown.
I'm broken, hallelujah.

In breaking my bones, your glory's shown.
In breaking my bones, your glory's shown
In breaking my bones, you've shown your love
I'm broken, hallelujah
Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice, rejoice.

Has it really been that long????!!!!!!

Wow, I can't believe my last post was in April! Crazy!

Well, you readers (the few that there are) are in for special treat. Hmmm, maybe "special" and "treat" aren't the right words. Perhaps some other words should be used, but I'm not sure exactly which ones fit. Anyway, here is the scoop....my spiritual life is like a puddle, or collection of water that is not moving....its stagnant, gross, and filled with mosquito larva. I have put so many other things in front of God that I have to wander around that special room in my heart and still have no clue where He is at (think room of requirements full of trash that students have hid and you are searching for the diadem of Ravenclaw, for you HP fans out there).

So I have pulled out a book from my collection called Authentic Beauty: the Shaping of a Set-Apart Young Woman by Leslie Ludy. Now, I am no longer a "young woman", but it still applies to women of ANY age. Anyway, this book is super convicting and I have cried many a tear while reading through the first few chapters. One of the tools she gives is a long set of questions to use when cleaning your heart room. These questions cover just about any type of sin you can imagine and while going through it, it brings up even more sins! She also gives 5 steps in dealing with that specific sin. Good stuff! Tough stuff! Healing stuff!

So, starting tonight, I have begun going through the list of questions, repenting, asking forgiveness, and takin out the trash. I've worked through the first 10 questions and still have a long way to go, but it feels good. Painful, very painful, but good.

I plan (plan being the key word) on posting updates, thoughts, struggles, etc. as I go through this process. Some of it is for my benefit, to get things out on paper (or the modern day equivalent), and some of it is for your benefit, so you can maybe be convicted about areas in your own life, or you can see areas where I need to be held accountable (feel free to call me out on things!).

I hope this will be a time of cleansing, healing, and growth....and that the mosquito larva will be taken care of, cause they are gross!

What gods do you have in your life?

In my scripture reading today, we read through the 10 commandments. Now, I've read the 10 commandments many, MANY times, and can actually recite them (thanks Sunday school), but I was blown away by the first one. I saw it with new eyes and a convicted heart, which was probably related to Easter having been a few days ago.

Ex 20:3 "You shall have no other gods before me."

WOW! Normally when I've read that verse (or recited that commandment), I've always thought about it in terms of the polytheism of the Old Testament - you shall only have one God and that is Yahweh. Today when I read that verse, I realized that it was talking about gods....the things in my life that I have put as more important than the King of King, and Lord of Lords.

That got me thinking even more specific. What gods do I have in my life? I have little gods, like reading, watching TV, hobbies. I have big gods, like wanting a husband, children, money, respect. I have so many gods that I can't even list them all here! How did I let these gods sneak into my life and take the place of my creator, my Savior, my Abba?

My goal this week is to confess and repent of these gods, put them back in their place, and elevate my God to His rightful place.

So, my question to you...what gods have crept into the place reserved for God, the creator, Savior, and lover of your soul?

While I'm Waiting

Found this on another site, and I just fell in love with the song. I've posted the music video on my facebook page as I couldn't figure out how to do it here.

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race, even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy, no,
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race, even while I wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
I'll be taking every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will not faint
And I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on you, Lord

Home

I have for sure decided to come home early from Guatemala. I am soooo homesick despite my best efforts. I have learned a bit more Spanish, as well as some phrases I'll need for work. Not as much as I have hoped, but I struggle so much with languages, I am impressed with what I've learned so far.

Anyway, I changed my flight to the 17th. Not sure of the times yet, I'm still waiting to hear back from the travel agent.

I decided to make a trip up to Tikal with some people from my school this weekend. Its rather a whirlwind trip as we leave at 4am Saturday morning, stop at a couple of places on the way to Tikal, spend the night, and then come back the next day, stopping at a few more places before arriving in Antigua at 9:30 pm. Maybe not as long and relaxing as I would want, but it fits in my timeline.

I'll take lots of pictures of Tikal and will share them when I get back. Its too hard to upload photos here, as even with DSL, its SLOW.

For those people who feel I might be missing out by leaving early...I appreciate your concern, but I honestly feel like its a the right thing to do. I've stretched, done what I need to do, and I am ready to come back home. I have no regrets about leaving early, just excitement to be back home.

TGIF

TGIF folks, TGIF! I had a big test at school today and got a 79%, which is about right for me. I did real good on some parts and then awful on others. We have moved on to some easier things, for which I am most thankful.

I was awakened this morning to the sounds of a mariachi band playing in the living room right out side of my bedroom. Quite the way to wake up. I'm trying to get pictures and some video up, but my computer isn't cooperating this morning. I will try again later.

For those who have been wondering what my days have been looking like this week, here it goes:

6:30 wake up and shower
7:15 breakfast (fruit, juice, bread, and runny eggs *gag*)
7:30 leave for school, where I pass a beautiful old church, of which I don't know the name.
7:40 get to school early for 2 reasons 1)check my email and 2) I am an overachiever who must arrive early
8:00 classes start
9:00 2 minute coffee/tea break
10:00 Morning break where I check email, read blogs, visit with other students
10:30 classes start again
11:00 ready for classes to be over as my brain is full
12:00 classes end.
12:10 colapse on my bed and rest until lunch
1:00 lunch which is usually soup, meat, beans, and tortilla
1:30 take a nap
2:30 study before I forget everything I learned that morning
3:30-4:00 read
4:00ish go for a walk around town
Wednesday only (leave for church) at 6:00
7:00 dinner is usually beans, tortilla, tamales or some other meat
7:30 read
8:00 start a movie on my laptop
8:45 fall asleep during the movie
9:30 wake up and actually go to bed

That is my day...boring so far. Hopefully, it will be more interesting after I change houses and get more involved in the church. I actually just heard from the office that I will be moving tomorrow instead of Sundaym which actually is nice as it will give me something to do tomorrow.

To...much...spanish...in..my...head

Seriously, I don't think I have any room left. My poor teacher this morning...I couldn't remember hardly anything from Monday or Tuesday. I still can't speak um hardly at all. I have to literally think of one word, translate it, think of another word, traslate that, etc, etc.

There is a reason why I am done with school...I dislike school imensley and am too old to have the memory to capture this information. I know, I know..29 isn't THAT old. I unfortunetly have inherited my mothers memory, which is, well, not great.

I went to Bible study last night and met a nice Canadian woman named Debbie, who incidently reminds me of my mom. She volunteers at a home for kids with CP and other deformities and plays with them, feeds them, etc. I'm going with her today to see if I can volunteer a few afternoons a week. It was nice to be in a group of believers again, although I miss my CG back home. I'll be going to church on Sunday as well.

I was able to switch my homestay family to the lady I had wanted in the first place. I'll be moving on Sunday. I still don't know if I'll stay for the full 4 weeks; I really, REALLY miss home a lot.

Sunday and Monday

Well, I’ve survived my first full day in Antigua. My head is spinning!
I had a really rough time Sunday after arriving in Antigua. I was met at the airport by an odd looking man, who, if he hadn’t been carrying a sign with all my information on it, I never would have gone with. We loaded into the van and off we went to Antigua. For a while I wasn’t sure if we were even heading in the right direction, and then things looked familiar and their were signs, so I felt better.

We arrived at my host family’s house and was told that the place I had requested was full so they put me here. The wife met me at the door and I was ushered into my room. I have a private room and private bath, and after paying today, have been charged accordingly, even though I asked for a shared bathroom as that cuts the price. Anyway, she showed me my room, told me when meals were the next day and then left. I unpacked and then realized that I was almost out of water to drink and wasn’t about to touch the tap water with a 10 foot pole. I wandered around, but wasn’t sure what part of the house was ok for me to go to. So I decided to charge my computer, only to find that my three prongs don’t fit into the 2 prongs they have here. At this point I sat down and had a good cry. I then decided to go and find some food, as my family doesn’t provide anything on Sundays. After wandering all over town trying to find something that looked familiar, I came across a Subway. I was relieved until I went in and realized that I couldn’t read the sign, nor did know how to ask for anything. I mimed to the man what I wanted and between my miming and his limited English, I was able to get my food. I then wandered all the way back to my house and proceeded to have another big cry.

After laying down for a bit, I felt better and wandered around the house some more. Finally, this girl from Denmark walked in and said hi. I picked her brain for a bit about drinkable water, laundry, and plug converters. Her and another girl were leaving for the week, and weren’t sure if they were coming back or not, but I at least felt better and had something to drink. I ended up going to bed at 8pm and slept a solid 9 hours.

Monday

First day of school! Got up and had breakfast, which unfortunately almost made me gag. I have a lot of food issues, but one of the worst is soft fried eggs. What was the main item on my place?? 2 very soft, runny eggs *gag*. Thankfully, there was bread and fruit. I managed to eat a few bites of egg and after almost hurling, stuck with the bread and fruit.

I then walked the 6 blocks to school where I met with a most wonderful teacher named Izabel. We covered 4 different verb forms in my four hour class time. I of course can no longer remember anything I studied this morning, but hopefully, it will come back tomorrow. I realized that I can understand most of what is being said, but have the verbal skills of a slow 2 year old. Anyway, she as very patient and there were enough breaks that I didn’t feel overwhelmed.
After class I headed back home for lunch, were I met two new students who had just come in. One speaks Spanish very well and is from Taiwan, and the other is a very young 15 year old from Alaska who is only here for 1 week and speaks hardly anything. We had a good lunch of Asparagus soup, chile releneo, guacamole, rice, and tortilla. It tasted good at the time, but is making me nauseous just thinking about it now.

After lunch I headed back to the school to pay for this week and leave for an activity. As I was paying, I realized that they charged me more for the school as I wasn’t paying for the full 4 weeks at once, AND they charged me for a private bathroom, even though I didn’t request one. I had already signed everything when I realized this. I requested to be moved if a spot opened in the house I had requested, and they said maybe next week.

After this, I met up with three other students from the school and we were driven to a coffee farm, where the whole tour was in Spanish, which none of us could really understand. We then went to a macadamia nut farm, which was beautiful, educational, and had good samples J After some time there, we drove to an artesian center in San Antonio where we were given a review and demonstration on Mayan fabric creation and customs. They walked through the traditional clothes, how it is worn, and then had us dress up as a wedding party. There was a married couple in the group, so they got re-married. I was the mother of the groom and the other lady was the mother of the bride. The clothes were amazing, although very hot. We got to mimic all the fabric costumes associated with marriage and the new family.

Such as: the girls start weaving/embroidering a shawl for their future mothers in law when they are 14. This is presented to their mother in law on the day of the wedding and she must wear it the whole day. If she takes it off, it is a sign that she doesn’t like her future daughter in law. The mother of the groom makes an apron that she presents to her daughter in law after the ceremony. They then have to make coffee and tortillas together before the bride can go to bed. The mother-in-law also makes a special blanket for her first grandchild that is used as a sling. Anyway, all sorts of cool things.

The real kicker though, was that it was almost all in Spanish. I was miraculously able to understand about 75% of it and translated for the others! This is where I really realized that I understand a ton more than I can speak. Afterwards, the tried to get us to buy things. I was almost tempted to buy one of the baby blankets/slings as those things rock! I didn’t bring enough Quetzales with me, so I go back if I can’t find one cheaper here in town.
Back to the school we drove and now I am at home typing this as I am waiting for dinner at 7pm. As I don’t have internet at the house, I will type now and send tomorrow at school. I’ll also try to get some more pictures up tomorrow.

Please keep praying for me as I am really lonely and unsure. Part of me just wants to hop on a plane and come home, but another part knows this is good for me. I’d love to have e-mails from home! Letter mail and packages take up to a month or two to get here, depending on customs, etc, so they aren’t really an option (thanks for the thoughts though).
Much love to everyone back home!

Kids outside the clinic at Cipresales


Me and some of the girls from Cipresales



Janie and the hot medical students from several of the local villages. All medical students in Guatemala have to do a 6 month service time in the rural community at the end of their 3rd year.


As we were leaving Cipresales I was able to snap this picture.

Some girls trying to sell Teresa some trinket at a viewpoint stop

Last day of clinics

Today was our last day of clinics and boy are we exhausted. We saw 97 people yesterday in medical alone and today we saw 52 before lunch! Thankfully, we only worked a half day today as we needed to pack up and the clinic nurse had a meeting. We are all lounging around this evening, checking e-mail, doing some shopping, taking much needed naps.

I can´t believe that my team is leaving in two days and then I´ll be on my own! I´ve had the final confirmation from the school and class starts monday. Ok, I´m off to find a card for one of the students.

Wednesday Evening

Well, I am back at the Internet Cafe again. No wireless thus far and no immediate plans to have any..so here I am. Hopefully, I will be able to have more wireless acess in Antigua so that I can blog at times other than in the evening when I am beat.

Today was our second day of clinics. It was slightly busier than yesterday, and rumor has it that it will be busier tomorrow as they announced on the local radio station that we were going to be there doing clinics. Hopefully is is a bit busier, but not swamped.

I was in lab and pharmacy again today. I did quite a few more blood draws and came back with several positive tests for TB. There was some question as to whether I was reading the tests right or if the tests were bad as they were outdated. No conclusion was made, and while it was possible I was reading the tests wrong, I kind of doubt it. I followed the directions and I have used these kind of tests before. They don´t have a history of TB in Cipresales, but it can spread pretty fast and 3 f them were in the same family. They are being sent for further testing and will get started on medication just in case, which is really what is important.

We also had a newborn baby in the clinic today, but not as a patient. The community health worker´s sister-in-law had an emergency c-section and then had a stroke. The outlook isn´t good, so Tomasita (the community worker) went and got the baby and brought it back so they could care for it. What a darling little thing. I wanted to get a picture, but Rolando said it wasn´t a good idea (culture and photos don´t always mix). Please keep her sister-in-law, the baby, and her 4 other children in your prayers.

Currently, I am stuffy and have a very nice cough going. It makes it very interesting to try and talk to patients...I get some pretty weird looks. The team is taking good care of me, which is totally a blessing.

Off to dinner! Buenos noches

Being sick is no fun

Sorry, I didn´t blog yesterday...we don´t have wireless at the place we are staying. At the moment I am writing this from an internet cafe in Pana. I blame any spelling or puncutation mistakes on the Spanish keyboard I am typing on.

Lets see...where did I leave off...

Sunday we went to church at Community of Faith, which is held at the house we are staying at. A nice short walk to church :-) The service was almost entirely in Spanish, although the message was translated for us gringos. After church, we went to Antigua (yep, where I am going to school). We went through the Capuchines convent again (always a fun time) and then wandered through the market for a while before spending some time around the Parque Central. Antigua is going to be a very interesting place to go to school. I have already found the Dominos Pizza, a bookstore, and several places to eat.

Monday I woke up with a bad cold, nausea, and extreame exhaustion (from not sleeping). This also was our travel day to Pana, so I got to spend all day in the car. After getting drugged up (in a good way), I crawled into the front seat and slept most of the trip. We started out by heading to Palencia (east of Guatemala City) and then backtracking through Guatemala City and out west to Pana/Lake Atitlan. That drive was about 5 hours, some of which was spent in traffic. We stopped for lunch at this resaurant that looks like it was taken right out of Leavensworth. Rolando (Tito´s assistant) ordered me some soup as I didn´t think the steak or chicken would been a good idea. I felt a bit better after eating and went and napped in the car while the group finished up. We dropped on clinic supplies in Ciprisales and then headed down to the place we were staying, a beautiful Christian retreat for missionaries. I got a bed by myself (due to being sick) and a roommate who is a doctor with all sorts of fabulous things to help me sleep. Went to bed early as we start clinics bright and early.

Tuesday

We had our first day in Cipresales. We saw about 55 patients in medical, which is really slow. Dental was very VERY slow. The community worker thinks it will be busier tomorrow, and I hope so. I worked betwen Pharmacy and Lab. We filled a lot of prescriptions and I had patients test positive for diabetes, H Pylori and a case of TB. I took a nap in the car after lunch and felt better as I had been running a temperature off/on during the day. We wrapped things up and headed back down to Pana and here I sit typing an update. Hopefully the wireless will be up and running so I can post some pictures (not that I took any yesterday or today as I was feeling so crummy). Oh, its also been increadebly windy and kind of cold the past few days. Last night I thought the roof of our house was going to come off in the wind!

Ok, well, I need to head off to dinner and then home to bed. Several things to pray for:

1) My health. Its tough being sick and trying to be a productive member of the team
2) More patients for tomorrow
3) Stamina and good will between team members
4) Safe travels

Feb 20th and 21st

Feb 20th

Finally arrived here in Guatemala! The flights went well and I have to say that Continental rocks! Not only did we have a movie on our way to Houston, we also were served lunch and they made 3 trips for beverages! The flight to Guatemala didn’t have a movie, but they did serve another meal. I guess Continental is one of the only airlines left that serves meals. Anyway…it was nice!

The only hitch was as we were taxing around the runways in Houston, one of our team members heard this strange noise. They had to stop the plane and check the overhead bins. She was sure it sounded like something was loose. Personally, I think it was this guy sitting in front of me. He was tapping his foot to the music he was listening to (even though I-Pods were supposed to be off at this point). After the flight attendant asking a bazillion questions about the noise, I stopped him and told him I thought it was the guy in front. He rolled his eyes because this guy had been giving the flight attendant a difficult time. Not in a mean way, just in an irritating “I’m a boy in my late teens” sort of way. Anyway, since we had to stop, we lost our place in line for take off and had to circle the runways for another 20 minutes. We got into Guatemala City pretty late 10:30 and didn’t get back to where we were staying until 12:00am. Can I say tired!

Feb 21st

First full day in Guatemala. Is sunny and in the mid 70’s. Tank top and capris type weather.
We had a pretty rough night last night and nobody got very much sleep. I think I took the record with only 2 hours of very fitful sleep (I‘m pretty much used to that anyway). We didn’t get to bed until around 1am and then had to get up at 6 so we could leave for our busy day with the kids from Community of Faith school. There was lot of groggy people this morning.
We had a blast with the kids and no one drowned, so that’s always a good thing. We divided 140 kids into teams and then the spent the morning going to several different games. I spent the morning manning the ball relay game. I was standing in one position so long I got a nice little burn on my shoulder and neck, despite sunblock! After game time, they opened up the pool for the kids.

They had a nice little shallow area which was probably only 1 foot deep and then a larger pool that went from 3 feet to 6. This totally helped the kids from getting in over their heads, literally! Kids here don’t usually learn how to swim, yet they love playing in water. They will jump in anywhere in the pool, even on top of another person and then flail about until they either get to shallower water, reach the edge, or someone helps them. Because of the smaller pool, the kids who couldn’t swim stayed there which really helped! I was sitting on the edge of the pool, just in case someone needed saving and got soaking wet from all the splashing.

After an hour of swimming, we had lunch, which was amazing! We had steak (everyday food here), tortillas, pasta salad and my favorite, refried black beans. I could write a whole paper on how much I LOVE the black beans here, but I will spare you the details of my passionate love affair.

During the afternoon, thee kids had a worship time and then did a craft. At the end of the day, we were able to give out school supplies to each child. Each class presented us with a card and big hugs.

These kids are amazing! This is the one time during the year that they get to do something like this and we are the only group out of the 12 or 13 that come down each year that does anything with them. So much missed opportunity to minister to them!

After the kids left, we went to the principles house with some of the teachers and had dinner. We had this corn drink that was, well, gross. It was like drinking creamed corn without the chunks of corn. Then we had these tamales that were, well, also gross. They had chunks of chicken in them, bones and skin included! Yep, I’m going to have a hard time with the food down here. That tamale broke about 15 meat rules (if you don’t know about my meat rules, its probably better not to ask, it’s a weird thing of mine). Black beans and rice make up a complete protein, right???

Tomorrow we have church and then changed plans a bit and are going to Antigua (where I'm going to school). I'll try and post some pictures in the next few days.

Guatemala Here I Come!

So, I am officially leaving in 5 days for Guate! I am this weird mixture of excited, nervous, happy and scared. Crazy!

Anyway, I am going to try and post updates and pictures here on my blog. It depends on internet access and if I have any hot dates taking up my time (just kidding mom, just kidding....maybe).

Stay tuned for tales of my exciting adventure!

Birthday Musings

Today is my Birthday...I am *gasp* 29! I certainly don't feel 29 - I feel more like 22. I realized that 10 years ago, yes 10, I was halfway done with my first year of nursing school..CRAZY!

I actually don't have a whole lot to say. Not much I can do about getting a year older, nor would I really change it and try to stay young forever. Aging is a normal and healthy part of life.

On a fun note..I get a card from my insurance agent every year that has the highlights from the year you were born. I got a kick out of some of them and decided to share them with you.

In 1980:

-The US boycotted the Olympics in Moscow to protest the invasion of Afghanistan.
- Mt St Helens erupted
- John Lennon was killed
- The top movie was The Empire Strikes Back (perfect, don't you think)
- A gallon of gas cost $1.19
- Bread cost $0.51
- A gallon of milk cost $2.08
- First class stamp cost $0.15

2009 Goals

I'm not a big fan of resolutions, but I like having goals. Here are my goals for 2009....

1) Live a more healthy lifestyle (diet, exercise, stress reduction)
2) Get out of debt (specifically credit card debt, but my student loan is in here too)
3) Read through the Bible
4) Keep my house clean
5) Live a more organized, simple life

That pretty much it...although there is a number 6, but its a bit more out of my control...

FIND A MAN!!!!!!!

Seriously....if you want to set me up with a nice Christian man, you are more than welcome to do so! Permission has been given!